


Special Delivery

by jujubiest



Series: Barrison One-Shots [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Barrison Prompts, Delivery Boy AU, Earth-2, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 16:24:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5298140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jujubiest/pseuds/jujubiest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt from fearlessandproud on tumblr: I was wondering if I could get a Barrison AU fic with maybe businessy Harrison and Messenger/delivery Barry? Pretty please?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Special Delivery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FilmInMySoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FilmInMySoul/gifts).



> So...this is not exactly what was asked for, but kind of? I got to thinking...what if in the Earth-2 universe, Barry was a delivery boy? Harrison Wells of Earth-2 definitely still works on the science himself, but he also seems to be very much the “asshole CEO” type when it comes to his employees...so here, have the story of how Barry Allen’s life changes forever when he makes a delivery to Dr. Wells at S.T.A.R. Labs!

Harrison Wells looked up at the knock on the door, brow furrowed.

“What?” He snapped. Then he registered who it was, and his face smoothed out immediately. “Oh, of course, come in!”

The delivery boy stumbled into the room, the tower of boxes he was trying to balance teetering alarmingly. A head of messy brown hair wearing a strained customer-service smile poked out from behind the impending avalanche.

“Where should I put these down, Dr. Wells?” He asked. Harrison waved carelessly, indicating the room in general.

“Oh just put them anywhere. Do I n— _he_ llo!”

As soon as the delivery boy tried to take a step, the tower started leaning dangerously, and Harrison could already see where this was headed if he didn’t intervene. He stepped in hastily to try to steady the kid’s armful, grabbing the two boxes off the top and depositing them on the desk behind him before turning back to grab the other three—

Only to be caught by a pair of wide green eyes looking up at him in something like awe.

“Th-thank you,” the kid stuttered. And he  _was_ a kid—he couldn’t be more than 25, if that. Then he graced Harrison with a bright, sweet smile, and Harrison thought to himself again,  _hello._

“I’ll just…put these others down now,” he said, not moving an inch. Harrison nodded.

“Yeah, you do that…” he glanced at the kid’s nametag, barely visible over the remaining two boxes he was clutching to his chest. “Barry, is it?”

At the sound of his name coming from Harrison’s lips,  _Barry_ flushed to the roots of his hair.

“Yes sir, Barry Allen.” he answered politely, turning to deposit the boxes against the far wall of Harrison’s office. He then came back over to the desk and gestured at the other two.

“Want me to move those over with the others?” He didn’t quite meet Harrison’s eyes as he said it, and Harrison found that…well, oddly endearing. It wasn’t the way his employees avoided his gaze when they knew he was in a bad mood, or the way Jesse avoided looking at him when she’d been caught in a fib. It was…bashful, as guileless and sweet as his smile.

“You do that,” Harrison answered his question, trying not to sound too amused. Barry stepped over to grab the boxes, moving with grace and efficiency now that he wasn’t trying to carry too many things at once. This brought him very close to Harrison, who didn’t move. Barry’s arm brushed the sleeve of his jacket as he pulled the boxes into his arms, and Harrison could swear his blush deepened.

He waited until Barry’s back was turned, arranging the boxes against the wall.

“Have you ever been to S.T.A.R. Labs before, Barry?” The young man didn’t turn around, but he nodded.

“I deliver things here all the time,” he said, so quietly Harrison had to lean in a bit to hear him. “And I…may have taken the tour a couple of times.”

A couple of times. Harrison felt a smile finding its way across his face.

“I see. You like science?”

Barry stood and brushed his hands off on his pants, then turned and nodded, oddly solemn. His blushing had calmed itself and his eyes were earnest.

“I love it,” he said, sounding a little breathless. “Figuring out all the mysteries of the universe…and I like how we can never know it all. There’s always something new out there to discover.”

His eyes shone with the conviction of his words. Harrison swallowed.

“Yes,” he agreed softly. “Always a new question to answer, always a new variable to account for. Sometimes it’s like putting together a puzzle with half the pieces missing and no idea where the corners are.”

Barry nodded eagerly. “Exactly! It’s so frustrating sometimes….but I love it. And when you find that missing piece, it’s—“

“Euphoric,” Harrison finished for him. “Always worth it.”

“Yeah…yeah, exactly.”

Harrison suddenly realized they’d been moving closer and closer as they spoke, so that Barry was now toe to toe with him, looking up at him with shining eyes. Not because he’s Harrison Wells—although he did get a fair amount of  _that_ from eager young scientists—but because of  _science._ The wonder and confounding beauty of it.

This kid, this  _delivery boy,_ of all things…he got it, in a way almost no one Harrison had met—certainly none of the people who worked for him—really did.

“Do you study physics at all, Barry?” He couldn’t help but ask. He immediately regretted it when he watched Barry’s face fall, the light in his eyes dimming slightly.

“Not really,” he said, sounding embarrassed. “I mean, I read everything I can get my hands on, but my mom…she doesn’t make all that much as a teacher, and scholarships are hard to come by, so…I didn’t really get a chance to.”

It brought on a wave of irrational anger, to think that  _this_ boy wasn’t able to study something he so clearly had a passion for because of something as simple as money.  _That’s gonna get fixed,_ he thought.

“Well,” Harrison said, taking a small step back to regain some distance between them “How about this? What if I were to hire you as the courier for S.T.A.R. Labs? With all the packages we’re constantly having delivered, it would honestly be cheaper in the long run just to pay one reliable person to do it all the time. And in return for doing me this favor, I’d be happy to give you access to…pretty much anything in this building you want to take a closer look at.”

Barry was staring at him like he’d just burst into the room in a red suit and announced that every day would be Christmas from now on.

“Are you  _serious_?”

“Completely,” Harrison said. He turned to his desk and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen. “Write down your address.  I’ll send an official offer letter for the job by the end of the day today. You’ll start on Monday. In the meantime, you should probably put in your notice at your old job.”

Barry looked utterly gobsmacked. “I…yes sir, absolutely!” He headed for the door, pausing to look back at Harrison with that sweet smile on his face again.

“Thank you, Dr. Wells…thank you so much. I can’t believe it!” And then he was gone without waiting for a reply.

“Believe it, Barry Allen. It’s my pleasure.” Wells murmured to the empty room. He sighed and went back to perch against the edge of his desk, thinking.

He was well aware that what he’d just done meant there was no chance of ever exploring that sense of possibility he’d felt between them, the way Barry blushed when Harrison said his name, the small bit of wonder in his eyes that was for  _him_ and not just science. He may have had a reputation for being ruthless and single-minded in the pursuit of his goals, but one line he wouldn’t cross was taking advantage of some poor kid who already felt indebted to him. It wouldn’t be right…no matter how sincere Harrison’s interest in Barry might be.

But he found he was fine with that, couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Barry clearly had a love of science. He understood it, felt it the way Harrison felt it. And with a passion like that, he would doubtless prove to have an affinity for it as well.

Given the choice, Harrison would rather foster that than a momentary attraction. Just having that enthusiasm in his proximity every day would be enough. And if it came attached to those green eyes and Barry’s light-filled smile…that was a double-edged gift, but one he thought he could live with.

Harrison turned and pressed a button on his phone.

“Linda, can you draw up an offer letter? I want it sent out this afternoon. I’ll send the details over right now.”

**Author's Note:**

> I maaaaay have an idea for continuing this but I don’t know because it would be really angsty if I did.


End file.
